2009 L&H 500

The 2009 L&H 500 was the Race 17 of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 11 to 13 September at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia. This was the ninth running of the Phillip Island 500 and the second time that Phillip Island had served as the venue for the annual 500 kilometre two-driver V8 Supercar endurance race. Unique to this event, two preliminary 14 lap Qualifying Races were held on Saturday with the two drivers of each car starting one race each. A single pitstop by each car in either race was mandated with the combined results of the two races determining the grid for the main 500 kilometre race. The three races all carried championship points and together constituted "Race 17" of the championship. However the finishing positions at the end of the 500 km race were deemed to be the finishing positions of the "2009 L&H 500" regardless of the total points scored by drivers over the three individual races.[1]

2009 L&H 500
Event Information
Round 9 of 14 in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Date11–13 September 2009
LocationPhillip Island, Victoria
VenuePhillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
WeatherFine
Results
Race 1
Distance 113 laps 500 km
Pole position Mark Winterbottom
Steven Richards
Ford Performance Racing
70 pts
Winner Garth Tander
Will Davison
Holden Racing Team
3:09:47.8436

For the first time since 2003, teams from outside of the V8 Supercar Championship Series were invited to compete in a championship race. Consequently, three single-car teams from the 2009 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series contested the L&H500, bringing the total entry up to 32 cars.

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday 12 September 2009. Driver A Qualifying was interrupted by a red flag after Greg Ritter spun his Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore in a sensitive position at turn 3 in the middle of the session which upset session plans for many teams. Paul Dumbrell set a time early in the session before the red which ended up standing for the session, taking pole position in his first drive for the Holden Racing Team. Todd Kelly worked down to his time, just one hundredth of a second behind Dumbrell. Will Davison and Steven Johnson also set their best laps early in the session to fill the second row of the grid. Warren Luff ably backed up teammate Johnson to be the fastest of the non-full-time V8 Supercar drivers in fifth position alongside the Ford of Steven Richards. David Reynolds was seventh fastest, a career best, ahead of Craig Lowndes with Dean Canto and Cameron McConville completing the tenth fastest drivers. Of the remaining positions the full-time drivers were generally faster. The best of the three wild card entries was Brad Lowe in 27th while at the tail Andrew Fisher was eighth tenths slower than Leanne Tander. Dean Fiore was excluded from qualifying and started the Driver A race from pit lane.

Mark Winterbottom recorded the fastest lap of either session to take Driver B pole position ahead of Fabian Coulthard and Rick Kelly, both of whom were faster than Dumbrell's Driver A pole position. James Courtney, Jason Richards, Jason Bright, Jamie Whincup, Garth Tander, Alex Davison and Jonathon Webb completed the top ten. Webb, matching his co-driver Luff to be the fastest part-time V8 racer. Andrew Thompson was impressive in eleventh. Damian Assaillit was the fastest wildcard driver in 25th, just behind triple touring car world champion Andy Priaulx. The other triple world champ, Superbike's Troy Bayliss was last, the slowest driver of the day and a full second slower than Tony Ricciardello who was 31st in the Driver B session.

Driver A Race

Poor start by both Dick Johnson Racing Falcons, but particularly Steven Johnson made a mess of the start. Todd Kelly took the early lead from Paul Dumbrell and Will Davison. Craig Lowndes forced past Steven Richards into fourth position with David Reynolds and Dean Canto in close company. Dumbrell lost two spots in the next few laps as Lowndes charged through the field.

Karl Reindler was spun by Paul Morris on the opening lap while Brad Lowe pitted with a steering problem. Jason Richards, Steven Johnson and Michael Patrizi pitted early in the race getting the compulsory stop for either race out of the way. For Johnson after dropping 20 positions at the start, he had nothing to lose by pitting.

Kelly and Lowndes raced clear of the field to take the top two positions. Davison was third ahead of Shane van Gisbergen who climbed through the field from outside the top ten to finish fourth. Russell Ingall climbed into fifth while Dumbrell faded to sixth. Reynolds was seventh ahead of Canto, Steve Owen and Dane Allan Simonsen.

Steven Richards and Cameron McConville were the best finishing drivers who made pitstops, finishing 15th and 16th. Johnson recovered to 19th. Lowe finished four laps down, but did finish with all cars making the finish. Morris was subsequently disqualified for his contact with Reindler.

Driver B Race

The first race was held on Saturday 12 September 2009. Jason Richards stalled on the grid, but got going again, Warren Luff was also slow away. Mark Winterbottom led Fabian Coulthard, Rick Kelly, Garth Tander, James Courtney, Jason Bright and Jamie Whincup.

Tony Ricciardello speared off and beached his Commodore at the final turn of the opening lap and Nathan Pretty pitted with damage and retired without completing a lap. A safety car was called to retrieve Ricciardello. Greg Murphy spun at the restart at Siberia after contact with Jason Bargwanna. Tander and Alex Davison were the first to stop. The Stone Brothers Racing team serviced their car faster, but not by enough, and the pair made contact in pitlane.

A broken ballast bracket on Rick Kelly's car broke loose, dragging underneath the car. A black flag was prepared for Kelly and he pitted immediately for repairs.

Winterbottom dominated the race, and combined with Steven Richards result from the Driver A race secured pole position for the 500 kilometre race on Sunday. Fabian Coulthard's second position was a career best with Jason Bright finishing third. James Courtney was fourth ahead of David Besnard (best part-time racer), Jason Bargwanna, Andrew Thompson, John McIntyre, Jonathon Webb with Jason Richards completing the top ten race positions. Jamie Whincup was the best of the pitstop drivers in 19th position, a result good enough the secure the other front row starting position.

500km Race

The 500 km race was held on Sunday 13 September 2009. Dean Fiore broke an alternator, depriving Troy Bayliss of his first V8 Supercar race start. Whincup won the start with Will Davison forcing past Steven Richards into second position. Alex Davison and Coulthard followed. Youlden was slowing early with bodywork rubbing a tyre after contact in the left rear corner. Coulthard had a mechanical failure in the engine bay causing a fire under the bonnet. Several cars following slid off track from spilt oil. Lap 11 contact between Karl Reindler and Dale Wood made contact and spin off track at turn 1.

Steven Richards started losing race positions dropping back to fifth as David Besnard charged through the field in the Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore, climb to fourth behind the Davison brothers. Greg Murphy pitted early, putting Mark Skaife back into racing in second last position. Alex Davison had a wheel failure due to a loose nut on the front right wheel which has cut the wheel in half causing him to spear off at Lukey Heights whilst defending third from Besnard.

Coming down the front straight Steve Owen and Cameron McConville made contact, breaking the steering on McConville's car who then speared straight off the track at turn 1 at high speed and eventually crossed the track again between turns two and three, almost hitting Besnard. Immediately afterwards on camera McConville blamed Owen for blocking several times on the straight.

Under the ensuing safety car approximately 20 cars pitted. After the restart Lowndes and Tander having taken over their cars charged into the race lead, quickly cutting through the slower cars that had worked through to the front of the safety car queue. Further back as the field sorted itself out Lee Holdsworth left the track at turn two after contact with Allan Simonsen. Simonsen received a drive-through penalty.

On lap 32 Holdsworth with damaged to the front left corner speared off at turn one after contact on the front straight with Brad Jones. Holdsworth pulled the car up short of crossing the track again and the car limped back to the pits. Jones suffered a puncture in the right rear.

Whincup now led from Will Davison, Johnson and Rick Kelly. Lap 48 saw a power steering failure in Jason Bargwanna's Commodore. Lap 52 saw Johnson pit from third and change to Courtney. A lap later Whincup and Will Davison pitted from first and second with Lowndes rejoining ahead of Tander. Tander immediately closed the gap. Bright became the third car to have a big lose at turn one, this one from brake failure. The front right tyre then punctured.

On lap 66 Todd Kelly slowed dramatically. Brad Jones finally retired. As the race approached lap 80 Lowndes had built a small gap over Tander with Winterbottom climbing into the podium positions as Courtney lost ground. Tander pitted on lap 82. Lowndes on lap 83, rejoining still ahead of Tander. Winterbottom pitted on lap 84 from the inherited lead. Courtney pitted on lap 85 again from the lead, handing the lead to Todd Kelly. Lap 88 saw Craig Lowndes leave the circuit at turn 2, causing him to lose the lead to Tander. Ten laps later Lowndes took the lead back on the run towards turn three after the pair had a small moment at turn two.

Lowndes found front right tyre was delaminating with three laps to go. Gradually the car slowed but Tander was able to pounce halfway around the final lap to take the win. Lowndes hung on for second position ahead of Mark Winterbottom and James Courtney. The Kelly brothers finished in fifth position ahead of the best of the part-time combinations, Warren Luff and Jonathon Webb. Russell Ingall and Tim Slade, Craig Baird and Paul Dumbrell, Dean Canto and Luke Youlden and Alex Davison and Shane van Gisbergen completed the top ten race finishers.

Results

Driver A Qualifying

Qualifying timesheet:[2]

Pos No Name Car Team Time
1 22 Paul Dumbrell Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team 1:33.3204
2 7 Todd Kelly Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 1:33.3314
3 2 Will Davison Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team 1:33.4363
4 17 Steven Johnson Ford FG Falcon Dick Johnson Racing 1:33.5187
5 18 Warren Luff Ford FG Falcon Dick Johnson Racing 1:33.5769
6 6 Steven Richards Ford FG Falcon Ford Performance Racing 1:33.7058
7 24 David Reynolds Holden VE Commodore Walkinshaw Racing 1:33.7286
8 888 Craig Lowndes Ford FG Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 1:33.7353
9 5 Dean Canto Ford FG Falcon Ford Performance Racing 1:33.7670
10 8 Cameron McConville Holden VE Commodore Brad Jones Racing 1:33.8144
11 10 Steve Owen Holden VE Commodore Walkinshaw Racing 1:33.8206
12 9 Shane van Gisbergen Ford FG Falcon Stone Brothers Racing 1:33.8242
13 33 Lee Holdsworth Holden VE Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:33.8565
14 51 Mark Skaife Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport 1:33.8650
15 34 Greg Ritter Holden VE Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:33.9030
16 39 Russell Ingall Holden VE Commodore Paul Morris Motorsport 1:33.9917
17 88 Allan Simonsen Ford FG Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 1:34.1150
18 111 Michael Patrizi Ford FG Falcon Paul Cruickshank Racing 1:34.1603
19 67 Paul Morris Holden VE Commodore Paul Morris Motorsport 1:34.3819
20 25 Karl Reindler Ford FG Falcon Britek Motorsport 1:34.3862
21 4 Daniel Gaunt Ford FG Falcon Stone Brothers Racing 1:34.5090
22 15 Ben Collins Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 1:34.5186
23 11 Dale Wood Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 1:34.5919
24 55 Tony D'Alberto Holden VE Commodore Tony D'Alberto Racing 1:34.6106
25 14 Andrew Jones Holden VE Commodore Brad Jones Racing 1:34.7007
26 3 Mark Noske Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport 1:34.7842
27 21 Brad Lowe Ford BF Falcon MW Motorsport 1:35.0007
28 16 Mark McNally Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 1:35.0687
29 23 Sam Walter Holden VE Commodore Greg Murphy Racing 1:35.1675
30 333 Leanne Tander Ford BF Falcon Paul Cruickshank Racing 1:35.3223
31 13 Andrew Fisher Ford BF Falcon Sieders Racing Team 1:36.1104
DSQ 12 Dean Fiore Holden VE Commodore Triple F Racing

Driver B Qualifying

Qualifying timesheet:[3]

Pos No Name Car Team Time
1 6 Mark Winterbottom Ford FG Falcon Ford Performance Racing 1:33.1970
2 111 Fabian Coulthard Ford FG Falcon Paul Cruickshank Racing 1:33.2237
3 7 Rick Kelly Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 1:33.2625
4 17 James Courtney Ford FG Falcon Dick Johnson Racing 1:33.3305
5 3 Jason Richards Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport 1:33.3969
6 25 Jason Bright Ford FG Falcon Britek Motorsport 1:33.4010
7 888 Jamie Whincup Ford FG Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 1:33.4777
8 2 Garth Tander Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team 1:33.5145
9 9 Alex Davison Ford FG Falcon Stone Brothers Racing 1:33.6643
10 18 Jonathon Webb Ford FG Falcon Dick Johnson Racing 1:33.7825
11 55 Andrew Thompson Holden VE Commodore Tony D'Alberto Racing 1:34.0372
12 34 David Besnard Holden VE Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:34.0381
13 10 Shane Price Holden VE Commodore Walkinshaw Racing 1:34.0838
14 39 Tim Slade Holden VE Commodore Paul Morris Motorsport 1:34.1086
15 51 Greg Murphy Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport 1:34.1528
16 4 John McIntyre Ford FG Falcon Stone Brothers Racing 1:34.2102
17 33 Michael Caruso Holden VE Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:34.2228
18 3 Jason Bargwanna Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport 1:34.2643
19 22 Craig Baird Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team 1:34.3303
20 5 Luke Youlden Ford FG Falcon Ford Performance Racing 1:34.4054
21 88 James Thompson Ford FG Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 1:34.5294
22 11 Jack Perkins Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 1:34.5566
23 67 Owen Kelly Holden VE Commodore Paul Morris Motorsport 1:34.5844
24 24 Andy Priaulx Holden VE Commodore Walkinshaw Racing 1:34.8720
25 21 Damian Assaillit Ford BF Falcon MW Motorsport 1:35.0740
26 23 Taz Douglas Holden VE Commodore Greg Murphy Racing 1:35.1390
27 14 Brad Jones Holden VE Commodore Brad Jones Racing 1:35.1396
28 13 David Sieders Ford BF Falcon Sieders Racing Team 1:35.1931
29 333 David Wall Ford BF Falcon Paul Cruickshank Racing 1:35.3223
30 15 Nathan Pretty Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 1:35.5797
31 16 Tony Ricciardello Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing 1:35.6164
32 12 Troy Bayliss Holden VE Commodore Triple F Racing 1:36.6139

Driver A Race results

Race timesheet:[4]

Pos No Driver Team Laps Grid
1 7 Todd Kelly Kelly Racing 14 2
2 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering 14 8
3 2 Will Davison Holden Racing Team 14 3
4 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing 14 12
5 39 Russell Ingall Paul Morris Motorsport 14 16
6 22 Paul Dumbrell Holden Racing Team 14 1
7 24 David Reynolds Walkinshaw Racing 14 7
8 5 Dean Canto Ford Performance Racing 14 9
9 10 Steve Owen Walkinshaw Racing 14 11
10 88 Allan Simonsen Triple Eight Race Engineering 14 17
11 14 Andrew Jones Brad Jones Racing 14 25
12 16 Mark McNally Kelly Racing 14 28
13 15 Ben Collins Kelly Racing 14 22
14 12 Dean Fiore Triple F Racing 14 32
15 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 14 6
16 8 Cameron McConville Brad Jones Racing 14 10
17 17 Warren Luff Dick Johnson Racing 14 5
18 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 14 13
19 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 14 4
20 4 Daniel Gaunt Stone Brothers Racing 14 21
21 51 Mark Skaife Tasman Motorsport 14 14
22 34 Greg Ritter Garry Rogers Motorsport 14 15
23 11 Dale Wood Kelly Racing 14 23
24 111 Michael Patrizi Paul Cruickshank Racing 14 18
25 3 Mark Noske Tasman Motorsport 14 26
26 55 Tony D'Alberto Tony D'Alberto Racing 14 24
27 333 Leanne Tander Paul Cruickshank Racing 14 30
28 23 Sam Walter Greg Murphy Racing 13 29
29 13 Andrew Fisher Sieders Racing Team 13 31
30 25 Karl Reindler Britek Motorsport 13 20
31 21 Brad Lowe MW Motorsport 11 27
DSQ 67 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 14 19

Driver B Race results

Race timesheet:[5]

Pos No Driver Team Laps Grid
1 6 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 14 1
2 111 Fabian Coulthard Paul Cruickshank Racing 14 2
3 25 Jason Bright Britek Motorsport 14 6
4 17 James Courtney Dick Johnson Racing 14 4
5 34 David Besnard Garry Rogers Motorsport 14 12
6 3 Jason Bargwanna Tasman Motorsport 14 18
7 55 Andrew Thompson Tony D'Alberto Racing 14 11
8 4 John McIntyre Stone Brothers Racing 14 16
9 18 Jonathon Webb Dick Johnson Racing 14 10
10 3 Jason Richards Tasman Motorsport 14 5
11 33 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport 14 17
12 11 Jack Perkins Kelly Racing 14 22
13 51 Greg Murphy Tasman Motorsport 14 15
14 21 Damian Assaillit MW Motorsport 14 25
15 13 David Sieders Sieders Racing Team 14 28
16 23 Taz Douglas Greg Murphy Racing 14 26
17 333 David Wall Paul Cruickshank Racing 14 29
18 888 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering 14 7
19 2 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team 14 8
20 9 Alex Davison Stone Brothers Racing 14 9
21 67 Owen Kelly Paul Morris Motorsport 14 23
22 10 Shane Price Walkinshaw Racing 14 13
23 39 Tim Slade Paul Morris Motorsport 14 14
24 22 Craig Baird Holden Racing Team 14 19
25 5 Luke Youlden Ford Performance Racing 14 20
26 88 James Thompson Triple Eight Race Engineering 14 21
27 14 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 14 27
28 24 Andy Priaulx Walkinshaw Racing 14 24
29 12 Troy Bayliss Triple F Racing 13 32
30 7 Rick Kelly Kelly Racing 11 3
DNF 15 Nathan Pretty Kelly Racing 0 30
DNF 16 Tony Ricciardello Kelly Racing 0 31

500km race results

Pos No Driver Team Laps Grid
1 2 Will Davison
Garth Tander
Holden Racing Team 113
2 888 Craig Lowndes
Jamie Whincup
Triple Eight Race Engineering 113
3 6 Steven Richards
Mark Winterbottom
Ford Performance Racing 113
4 17 James Courtney
Steven Johnson
Dick Johnson Racing 113
5 7 Rick Kelly
Todd Kelly
Kelly Racing 113
6 18 Warren Luff
Jonathon Webb
Dick Johnson Racing 113
7 39 Russell Ingall
Tim Slade
Paul Morris Motorsport 113
8 22 Craig Baird
Paul Dumbrell
Holden Racing Team 113
9 5 Dean Canto
Luke Youlden
Ford Performance Racing 113
10 9 Alex Davison
Shane van Gisbergen
Stone Brothers Racing 113
11 51 Greg Murphy
Mark Skaife
Tasman Motorsport 113
12 10 Steve Owen
Shane Price
Walkinshaw Racing 112
13 34 David Besnard
Greg Ritter
Garry Rogers Motorsport 112
14 11 Jack Perkins
Dale Wood
Kelly Racing 112
15 55 Tony D'Alberto
Andrew Thompson
Tony D'Alberto Racing 112
16 24 Andy Priaulx
David Reynolds
Walkinshaw Racing 112
17 4 Daniel Gaunt
John McIntyre
Stone Brothers Racing 112
18 15 Ben Collins
Nathan Pretty
Kelly Racing 111
19 333 Leanne Tander
David Wall
Paul Cruickshank Racing 111
20 13 Andrew Fisher
David Sieders
Sieders Racing Team 111
21 88 Allan Simonsen
James Thompson
Triple Eight Race Engineering 111
22 16 Mark McNally
Tony Ricciardello
Kelly Racing 101
23 21 Damian Assaillit
Brad Lowe
MW Motorsport 93
24 23 Taz Douglas
Sam Walter
Greg Murphy Racing 92
DNF 25 Jason Bright
Karl Reindler
Britek Motorsport 92
DNF 14 Andrew Jones
Brad Jones
Brad Jones Racing 80
DNF 67 Owen Kelly
Paul Morris
Paul Morris Motorsport 62
DNF 3 Jason Bargwanna
Mark Noske
Paul Morris Motorsport 46
DNF 33 Michael Caruso
Lee Holdsworth
Garry Rogers Motorsport 31
DNF 8 Cameron McConville
Jason Richards
Brad Jones Racing 20
DNF 111 Fabian Coulthard
Michael Patrizi
Paul Cruickshank Racing 4
DNS 12 Troy Bayliss
Dean Fiore
Triple F Racing

References

Supercars Championship
Previous race:
2009 Queensland House and Land.com 300
2009 Supercars Championship Next race:
2009 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
Previous year:
2008 L&H 500
Phillip Island 500K Next year:
2010 L&H 500
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